In the Republic of Alua, a pale-skinned man and woman were sitting across from each other in a run-down home, both in the middle of a conversation.

  "As a speaker of multiple languages myself," the man began. "I can tell you that any language is possible to learn with the necessary drive and the right skills, and that all languages sound beautiful in their own way. But Ezra, can I be completely honest?"

  "'Course you can, Toby. Shoot," Ezra said with a nod.

  Toby continued, "Well, all that said, the sole exception to that is the language of these Fennec folk: Fennecian. The Fennecian language is the only language I know that actually sounds hard. It just sounds harsh, and it's a language that's not even remotely pleasant to listen to. It sounds like they're trying to cough up phlegm while simultaneously wolfing down a whole loaf of bread. Long story short, it just sounds like a mindfuck since it sounds so weird, like—it's just unbelievably weird, an—"

  "Watch out," Ezra cut him off with a shit-eating grin, crying tears of laughter, "You'll have the woke mob on your heels about 'cultural sensitivity' or whatever those diversity terrorists screech into the void about~" she said, putting emphasis on 'terrorists'.

  Toby rolled his eyes and let out a scoff, folding his arms across his chest. "Oh, come on, you know you're over-exaggerating right now. There's no way the mob will care about me having a problem with the Fennec folk's language."

  "Oh yeah? You say that now, Toby," Ezra countered with an eye roll back. "Remember when the 'woke mob' attacked you for having the 'nerve' to say you found a Yushalian accent unpleasant? They will go after you for this if they find out.”

  Toby let out a groan and leaned back in his chair, raking his fingers through his dark brown hair in frustration. "Oh my Goddess, don't remind me. That incident was an absolute nightmare to deal with."

  Ezra chuckled in amusement, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Well, you didn't make it any easier on yourself. You went full 'old white man' by saying you don't like the accent because it 'sounds like yelling', remember? Of course you got crucified for it.”

  Toby's face flushed red with embarrassment as he shot Ezra a glare. "Oh shut up! I didn't say it like that, okay, maybe I did, but it wasn’t just because of the accent!" He threw his hands up in exasperation before slamming them back down on the table dramatically.

  Ezra nearly doubled over laughing at his outburst, wiping tears from her eyes. "Sure, Toby~ Keep telling yourself that!" She wheezed between breaths before adding smugly: "You just can't handle anything sounding 'different' from your precious little Elbrastrian bubble."

  Toby growled under his breath but couldn’t stop himself from muttering one last thing: "...At least my language doesn't sound like someone choking on gravel... But yeah Fennecian also sounds weird because—"

  "Ah-ah," Ezra cut him off again with a chuckle, "Remember, you're gonna say something to make the woke warlords launch a brigade upon you. And we're in the Fennec people's land, and the Fennecs are ULTRA GIGA woke and progressive, and way too proud of their language to boot. They'll scream at you so loud that they'll leave a crater in the ground.”

  Toby let out a weary sigh and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Great, first the Yushali mob, now the Fennec mob... Just what I need. You know, sometimes I wonder why I bother even speaking at this rate."

  Ezra rolled her eyes again and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. "Oh, come on, don't be so dramatic. It's not the end of the world. You'll be fine as long as you keep your mouth shut and don't say anything more stupid for once in your life.”

  Toby huffed and folded his arms as well, mirroring Ezra's stance. "Hey, I'm not that bad at keeping my mouth shut! I just...have a habit of speaking my mind a bit too bluntly, that's all."

  Ezra chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and 'a bit too bluntly' is putting it extremely lightly. You've got a filter thinner than a piece of wet tissue paper, and do you know what happens to people like that?"

  As if miraculously on cue, a gunshot rang out. Before either of the two knew it, a bullet went through Toby's head, falling over and going limp on the floor. Outside the window was Dodeka, holding a rifle, with Trixie at her side.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Trixie’s breath hitched as she stared at the body on the floor, blood pooling like spilled ink. Her fingers twitched at her sides, a flicker of something human trying to claw its way back through Sarolta's conditioning.

  Dodeka lowered her rifle with mechanical precision, her expression unreadable even as she glanced sidelong at Trixie. "That one talked too much," was all she said before stepping over Toby’s corpse without hesitation and scanning for more threats in the dimly lit room.

  Ezra hadn’t even screamed yet, just frozen mid-sentence with wide eyes locked onto Dodeka...then flicked down to Toby…then up again in slow-dawning horror: "...Well shit."

  Dodeka tilted head slightly; voice still flat as ever: "You next?”

  Trixie's hands trembled slightly at her sides, the shock of Dodeka's cold-blooded action sending a jolt through her. Her lips parted as if to protest, but no words came out. Sarolta’s voice echoed in her skull again: "You will not speak unless permitted."

  Dodeka didn’t wait for Trixie to react; she simply turned the barrel toward Ezra, whose survival instincts finally kicked in. The woman scrambled backward so fast she nearly tripped over Toby’s body, her breath coming in sharp gasps.

  "W-wait! I-I wasn’t even talking!" Ezra stammered desperately, palms raised like that would stop a bullet mid-air. "Please don't shoot me too!!"

  Dodeka paused...then lowered the rifle by an inch while staring down at the shaking target with detached curiosity: "...Why were you here?"

  Ezra opened her mouth, closed it, then squeaked pathetically before blurting out the first thought that came to mind (which happened to be the worst possible answer): "I was just visiting my friend!! And now he's dead because YOU SHOT HIM!!!”

  Dodeka's expression didn't change, just a slow blink as if processing the sheer stupidity of Ezra’s outburst.

  Then, without warning, she fired again.

  The second bullet punched through Ezra’s shoulder before she could even finish screaming. The woman collapsed onto her side with a strangled wail, clutching at the wound like it might somehow spit the bullet back out.

  Dodeka tilted her head slightly while watching blood soak into the floorboards: "Visiting friends is...risky business." She deadpanned before turning to Trixie, her voice dropping lower now; less soldier and more something else entirely: "...Clean up this mess."

  Trixie flinched violently at the order but didn't move until Dodeka nudged her rifle barrel toward the corpse pointedly (meaning obey or next round goes between your eyes). Her hands shook harder when forced knee-down beside bodies…

  Meanwhile outside:

  A distant voice shouted in Fennecian, followed by rapid footsteps approaching fast from the direction of nearby buildings!

  The footsteps grew louder, echoing through the streets like a war drum. Trixie's head snapped up, her breath catching in her throat, voices of the Fennec people. The words were sharp and guttural, but she didn’t need to understand them to know what they meant: They’d heard the gunshots.

  Dodeka reacted instantly; she grabbed Trixie by the collar and yanked her behind a crumbling wall just as shadows spilled into view from outside. A group of armed Fennec folk stormed in, weapons raised and eyes scanning for threats. Their ears twitched at every sound while their tails bristled with aggression.

  One kicked Toby’s corpse aside with her boot before snarling something that made another soldier laugh coldly nearby…

  Trixie pressed herself flat against the dirt floor (still clutching the bloody rag from Ezra’s wound) as Dodeka crouched beside her, rifle now trained toward the entrance where enemies stood oblivious a few feet away. Her stomach twisted violently because goodness - this was way worse than Sarolta had warned about!

  As the Fennec soldiers scanned the room, the tension was almost palpable in the air. And then one soldier noticed the pool of blood, letting out a sharp cry that caused the others to freeze like a pack of wolves scenting prey.

  "What happened?" A leader-type Fennec soldier demanded, stepping into view with a cold glare. She cast a contemptuous look at Toby’s body before her glare landed on Trixie, eyes narrowing.

  "You," she barked, "stand up right this moment!!”

  Trixie flinched reflexively, her body automatically trying to obey, but...the leader-type soldier wasn't Sarolta...so that conditioning wouldn't work. She remained frozen in place, trembling like a mouse caught in a trap.

  Dodeka had been watching quietly; her expression was now slightly tense, eyes flicking toward Trixie as if to say: say nothing or I'll put a bullet in you myself. But right before the Fennec soldier could repeat herself...A loud crash echoed from down the street as a new group raced toward the building.

  The Fennec soldiers whipped around in alarm, weapons raised, just as a meteorite tore through the roof with a deafening crash.

  Debris rained down as Trixie instinctively ducked, her wide eyes locked on the glowing crater now gaping above them. The air reeked of scorched metal and ozone.

  Dodeka’s rifle jerked upward instantly, but not toward enemies; instead she was scanning the sky like expecting more projectiles any second...until suddenly: "Sarolta?" She hissed under breath while gripping Trixie's shoulder hard enough to bruise (warning or promise? Unclear).

  Because there—hovering ominously at the edge of a hole in the ceiling like some divine punishment sent from Meteor Corp HQ itself—was a figure floating there via high-tech repulsor boots…and looking extremely displeased about what she’d just walked into.

  One Fennec soldier lowered her weapon, saying lowly: "...Empress Kirsi?”